Books of 2017- Installment #16

76. The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
I'll admit it. I watched the show Haven and loved it, so then I found my way to this story. This is a great short novel. I really enjoyed it! That said, it's fascinating to think that the creators of Haven took this story and went where they went with it.

77. Time Loves a Hero by Allen Steele
When I was in high school, I bought a book called Timescape by Gregory Benford. The guy at the register told me that the author would be there the next day for a book signing. I could come in and have the author sign my book. Well, I didn't know anything about the book or the author; it had just sounded interesting. Still the next day, my parents kindly took me to Tower and I got to go to the signing. I handed my book to the author, who promptly told me he wasn't Gregory Benford. Well, I was confused. I looked around and discovered that the book tour was for a book called Heart of the Comet written by Gregory Benford and David Brin. David Brin talked to me for what now in my memory was hours while my parents waited outside. Well, I didn't like Timescape, but I did like Heart of the Comet and just about everything else David Brin has written. So here it is some 30 years later, and I'm reading Time Loves a Hero and who should appear in the book but Gregory Benford! Timescape, Heart of the Comet, and David Brin all get discussed. So a book I was already enjoying- it's a time travel story!!!- goes from good to delightful! It's a whole little inside story that means so much to me!

78. Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories by Naomi Kritzer 
I read the eponymous title and was hooked. I had to go get this book. It's still one of my favorite stories in this book, but I can honestly say I loved most of the books and thought they all were excellent!!

79. Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
I was so excited to read this adult version of Scooby Doo!! It was good, really well written, and engaging.... but it is a tad darker than I wanted and I don't know how they could have physically done all the things they did....

80. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal
I love the premise of this book. We have a long history of not looking at animals in an intelligent way, so we can't understand animals well. Our biases deeply impact how we try to understand animals. I would have liked it to be a little tighter and a little less repetitive, but I was on board and it was clear he was trying to get people on board...

Books of 2017- Installment #15

71. Fen: Stories by Daisy Johnson
I first heard about this author from LeVar Burton. He has a podcast called LeVar Burton Reads and he read one of the stories from this novel. I can't say I liked every story in this collection, but none of them were boring! It was especially interesting to read this book after having just read The Wake which also takes place in the fens of England.

72. Unnatural Creatures edited by Neil Gaiman
This is a fun collection of stories. My favorite by far was the one by Nalo Hopkinson. She is amazing! I've been interested in a couple of her books and now am even more interested!!

73. The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything by John McDonald
I loved the TV movie with Robert Hayes and Pam Dawber when I was a kid. Then I read 11/22/63 and Stephen King referenced it a couple of times and filled me with a thrill. Surely, the book would be a delight! Well, some things are best unvisited, and stop calling me Shirley. Honestly, the treatment of women in this novel is so unacceptable to me that I can't even pretend to think this book is okay. I'm now unwilling to rewatch my beloved little movie because I'd rather think it was sweet than risk learning it closely follows this book...

74. Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
Oh, how I love Ray!! I feel like I came to Ray late in life even though I had read Fahrenheit 451 when I was young and maybe some other stories. But it was only with the last 5 years or so that I started digging into his work, reading lots of his stories and what a joy! This collection of essays of his thoughts on writing is no exception. His joy at life is so clear in this book. It put a smile on my face and some tears as well!

75. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
This was a book I decided I needed to reread this year. I don't think I have read it since 6th grade which now is such a long time ago. It's such an interesting thing to revisit a powerful book after so many decades. The things that I remembered and the things that I forgot. The lessons that as a society we still haven't learned. I've been reading so much Bradbury lately that I'm seeing the ideas that sunk their teeth into him and wouldn't let go so much more clearly than I ever did before. And that's fascinating as well.